Thread by @ashjroberts

A few tweets to celebrate the fantastic efforts of various @UniofNottingham teams behind the scenes over the last few weeks. Indulge me.

@aardvarknsefce likened the Covid shutdown at UoN to a juggernaut. Once stopped, an incredible effort was needed to get it moving again

For context, the University operates approx. 400 buildings across 4 campuses in the UK (+ 1 in Glasgow 🤷‍♂️)

In March those buildings all shut, pretty much overnight. Staff had to adapt to a new way of working and this became the soundtrack to our lives:

Most people were able to pack up and leave, but someone had to make sure the buildings were secure, safe and continued to be compliant. Some of that was picked up by faculties, but a large chunk fell to Estates.

Flushing water systems, checking fire alarms etc, etc

In addition the University had to quickly react to protect the environment & its finances. Building systems were shut down. Staff were furloughed. All making a quick return far more complicated

A shut down of this speed & scale had never been carried out by the University before

As we got used to lockdown life, thoughts turned to a return to campus. A recovery group formed. But where do you start? What will then restrictions be? When? How?

We needed to prepare our campuses, our buildings and our people for a position that no-one could predict.

Fortunately, UoN & @ShearerWest were clear on their ambitions from early on: a return to campus and blended approach to learning that would tie into the latest advice, whatever that was going to be.

The challenge was set. Open the buildings. Open the campus. Safely. Easy.

Where to start? Teaching. Students are kind of a big deal at Universities. We would like to have them back.

Within a week we had people carrying out assessments - considering old access routes, new access routes, risks, vent, toilets etc etc.

210 rooms in 3 weeks ✅

But it wasn't just standard teaching rooms. On the latest advice we weren't going to be able to get more than 50 people in most of our spaces. We were going to need A LOT more space

Fortunately colleagues in IS stepped in, helping us assess studios & dining rooms amongst others

RESEARCH. At the same time we couldn't forget research. We do a lot of it. It's very important. And since March most of our researchers hadn't been able to get into their labs. They wanted to get back.

The research workstream identified 7 buildings, target dates were set. GO GO

Key to the success of this was PROCESS. Resource was limited across the Univestity, particularly in Estates. Getting a process agreed would mean we could ensure everyone was doing the same thing and provide standardised compliance. So we built one, got in approved. Continue.

Teams were assigned for each building. A PM from Estates, a Safety Office rep, building users, local H&S. They threw themselves into risk assessments, building plans. There were teething problems, but in case anyone had forgotten:

We had never done this before. No-one had!

Movement. That was always going to be key to reducing risk in a building - moving people around. Each building team was tasked with developing a plan for movement through communal areas and users looked at the same principals on a room by room basis.

Signage: To help with that movement we needed some signs, and of course they needed to be on brand! Estates, Marketing & the Safety Office developed a portfolio of 30+ signs, all looking great!

Procurement: It's all good wanting lots of signage & sanitiser, but at the minute so does everyone else!

Whilst procurement worked miracles with soap & wipes @UoNSU came to the rescue for printing - getting 5000 signs professionally printed within a week.

CURVEBALL: The University is hosting a virtual open day throughout June & July, so another building needs to be prioritised to host that.

Add it to the list. Crack on.

Building systems have been shut down, turning them on again is not simple!

When they are turned on, if they work, they might still need additional changes to make them Covid compliant

None of this work is visible, but it is critical.

We're on the way to opening the building, but now you've got to service it. Cleaning requirements have increased, but staff are currently furloughed. Some staff are shielding. All staff need training, for return to site and new regimes.

Now the signage is printed, teams can be mobilised to get in installed. It looks good!

The background work continues apace, and local teams led by the like of @chrisdenning42 are pulling together reams of info (appreciate these tweets are estates focussed!)

Whilst the teams are focussing their efforts on these 7 buildings, others were making sure the other 390 were kept safe, secure and compliant.

Projects have continued, a programme to find savings has commenced, teams have been diverted to deal with floods (!!)

But here were are, still in June, and today we managed to sign off the Estates Checklist for 5 buildings.

There's plenty more to go, lessons to learn, processes to speed up. We've got some ambitious targets for re-opening more buildings quicker. But tonight we celebrate!

Now all we've got to do is roll that out across another 200 buildings. And then another 200. asap.

But look at the great signage! (thanks to @StavrosPouricas for the pics)

#WeAreUoN

The juggernaut is moving!